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Zelenskyy says Trump exerting undue pressure as Ukraine-Russia peace talks enter second day
Good morning and welcome to our Europe live blog. The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the US was putting undue pressure on him to bring the war to an end, as negotiators from Ukraine and Russia are set to gather for a second day of peace talks in Geneva.
The US-brokered negotiations in Switzerland began on Tuesday but expectations for any breakthroughs were low, with neither side seemingly unwilling to budge on key issues including control of territory in eastern Ukraine and future security guarantees, despite the US setting a June deadline for a settlement.
US president Donald Trump has recently suggested that the onus was on Ukraine to take steps to ensure the talks were successful, but Zelenskyy has hit back, saying it was “not fair” that Trump is publicly calling on Ukraine, and not Russia, to make concessions for peace.
“I hope it is just his tactics and not the decision,” Zelenskyy told the US website Axios.
He said any plan requiring Ukraine to give up territory that Russia had not captured in the eastern Donbas region would be rejected by Ukrainians if put to a referendum.
Elsewhere, the Danish king is due to start a three-day visit to Greenland, in a show of support to the autonomous Danish territory coveted by Trump. The US president’s threats to seize the Arctic island by force if necessary have increased diplomatic tensions between Washington and Nato member Denmark, but Trump has insisted that Greenland is needed by the US for national security and defence reasons. While Trump has dialled back his threats to take over the island, King Frederik has expressed his solidarity with Greenland, which is home to 58,000 people.
Also today, many Christians and Muslims across Europe will be fasting side by side as they mark the beginning of Ash Wednesday and Ramadan respectively. During Ramadan, Muslims abstain from food and drink from dawn until sunset for a month, while Christians observe a 40-day period of lent leading up to Easter.
Key events
Peace talks in Geneva begin – reports
Russian state media are reporting that the peace talks in Geneva have begun. We have some early images from the newswires of the scene outside the Intercontinental hotel where the second day of negotiations are taking place.
Zelenskyy says Trump exerting undue pressure as Ukraine-Russia peace talks enter second day
Good morning and welcome to our Europe live blog. The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the US was putting undue pressure on him to bring the war to an end, as negotiators from Ukraine and Russia are set to gather for a second day of peace talks in Geneva.
The US-brokered negotiations in Switzerland began on Tuesday but expectations for any breakthroughs were low, with neither side seemingly unwilling to budge on key issues including control of territory in eastern Ukraine and future security guarantees, despite the US setting a June deadline for a settlement.
US president Donald Trump has recently suggested that the onus was on Ukraine to take steps to ensure the talks were successful, but Zelenskyy has hit back, saying it was “not fair” that Trump is publicly calling on Ukraine, and not Russia, to make concessions for peace.
“I hope it is just his tactics and not the decision,” Zelenskyy told the US website Axios.
He said any plan requiring Ukraine to give up territory that Russia had not captured in the eastern Donbas region would be rejected by Ukrainians if put to a referendum.
Elsewhere, the Danish king is due to start a three-day visit to Greenland, in a show of support to the autonomous Danish territory coveted by Trump. The US president’s threats to seize the Arctic island by force if necessary have increased diplomatic tensions between Washington and Nato member Denmark, but Trump has insisted that Greenland is needed by the US for national security and defence reasons. While Trump has dialled back his threats to take over the island, King Frederik has expressed his solidarity with Greenland, which is home to 58,000 people.
Also today, many Christians and Muslims across Europe will be fasting side by side as they mark the beginning of Ash Wednesday and Ramadan respectively. During Ramadan, Muslims abstain from food and drink from dawn until sunset for a month, while Christians observe a 40-day period of lent leading up to Easter.
